GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure – part 1

As promised, today I bring you a recap of my recent adventure with GMC and Habitat for Humanity! Quick refresher: last year I was selected along with 5 other DIY bloggers to participate in The World’s Longest Yardsale. We were each given a small budget of $250 to shop the length of the sale and find items to decorate and furnish a room in a Habitat for Humanity home in Birmingham, at the end of the sale. You can read more about last year’s experience here.

THIS year, GMC selected a new group of bloggers to travel the sale with the same goal in mind: to furnish and decorate a Habitat for Humanity home in Atlanta. What made this event so special to me and the bloggers I worked with last year was knowing that our DIY talents could truly make a difference to the family at the end of that road. Really? you are thinking. Like spray painting a garage sale table is going to change a life? Well let me tell you that YES! It can!

This year’s home was built for the Simmons family, a single mother with four kids, ages 6 – 14. They had worked so hard and made a lot of sacrifices to build this home through Habitat for Humanity, but they hardly had anything else. Not even the basics. They were sharing one mattress. One. The kids kept their clothes in plastic bags because they didn’t have dressers. The family had never even owned a kitchen table. No furniture, no dishes, nothing to really make it a home.

So the new team headed out on the sale with the Simmons family on their minds, a little bit of cash in their wallets, and only a vague understanding of the layout of the house.

When the bloggers rolled up to the home on Sunday morning with their GMC Acadia’s packed to the brim, they only had around five hours to unpack and fix up their treasures and completely transform the house from an empty box to a beautifully decorated home.

That’s where I come in! Last year’s team was brought in to help the new team get their rooms and items transformed for the big reveal, and speaking from experience, those extra hands were much needed. It’s Crazy Time from start to finish. We got to work right away, spray-painting furniture in the backyard, hanging curtains, making runs to the hardware store, you name it.

Brooke vignette-ing (pretty sure that’s not a word) and Traci working her reupholstering magic.

But enough talk! Let’s check out the room reveals! Today I bring you the living room by Josie, and the music room by Christine. Stay tuned for the rest of the reveal next week. (So sorry to keep you hanging, but my kids are demanding to eat today, so I probably should go see to that first).

Living room before. Go Josie! Show that $2 table who’s boss!

And … after!

The couch was a donation from the Habitat For Humanity Restore. I think the priciest item in this entire room was $20? (Other than the new TV that Josie provided with her own $$. What a big-hearted blogger.) I failed to get a picture of the TV wall, because I am not awesome, but perhaps Josie will share that on her site soon. Fun fact: the teal pillows were originally props from a show on the Disney Channel! Celebrity pillows, ooooh!

I think she did an incredible job. On the gallery wall is an ‘S’ made with a map of Georgia, and a heart made with a map of the family’s hometown.

She was a little unsure of the chair when she first found it, but something told her to grab it, so she did. Good call! It works perfectly in here. Such a vibrant and lively color scheme, I think this room is bursting with energy now.

Next up, the music room by Christine. Latoya, the mother, is a beautiful singer, and planned to use this room as a space to work on her music. But, she also hoped to make it an office as well, so Christine set out to blend the two in perfect harmony. (See what I did there? HA! Oh, nevermind).

Lots of purple touches, which is Latoya’s favorite color.

I loved this desk. It was such a rich tone of wood and in perfect shape, and somewhere around $25. Insane!

Christine had this purple frame kicking around without a purpose, so I put a map of Michigan inside, as a tribute to the amazing folks at GMC who made all of this possible. (Plus, pretty colors!)

One last thing: this console table that Christine made with a pair of old speakers found for $10. We would have loved to hollow them out and made cabinet doors out of the front panels to give it some storage, but time did not permit.

Here’s the veteran team in all our sweaty glory: Me, Brooke, Brittany, Traci, (plus Brooke’s brother Court, who kindly stuck around after the Haven Conference to help us out).

I can’t wait to share the rest of the house with you next week! And if you want more sneak peaks, or shots from the sale, check out #GMCHTA on your choice of social media. Have a great weekend!

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment

Name *

Email *

Website

Welcome!

Hi! I'm Lindsey, and this site is inspired by you! This is a showcase of my favorite part of any design project or makeover: The before and afters! It's always better after! I love seeing transformations of thrift store treasures or overlooked items into beautiful and functional design and decor. I'm endlessly inspired by what people can conceive and create. Do you have any before and afters to submit? Please share! BetterAfter@live.com